Electronic dart games have become increasingly popular for commercial amusement purposes. Heretofore, such games typically included dart board assemblies having a number of slidable apertured target segments held in a frame for striking a switch array in response to being hit by a blunt nosed dart. The various switches are interconnected with electronic scoring and readout circuitry which monitors closing of the various switches associated with each target segment. These games are often subjected to frequent and severe use. Improvements in ruggedness and reliability are always desirable for such applications.
In one prior art electronic dart game, the target segments were in the form of cups having a closed end wall and the apertured target plate was cemented in, and spaced from the open end of the cup. Such target segments, while performing generally satisfactorily, retained broken dart tips, were susceptible to becoming jammed in the frame upon being struck near the perimeter of the target plate and were relatively expensive to manufacture.
In another electronic dart game, the target segments each had closed side walls extending rearwardly from the target plate to form an enclosed space behind the target plate. A number of rectangular protuberances were disposed on the rear surface of the side walls. The frame for the segments had walls defining target segment spaces, with the walls having guide ribs for engaging the side wall of the segment intermediate the peripheral corners of the target plate. This portion of the side wall was very flexible and a dart striking near the periphery of the plate could cause the segment to become jammed in the frame.
The various switches were typically contained in a switching matrix of laminated construction including layers having aligned contacts spaced by a thin layer of insulation having holes aligned with each pair of contacts. A dart striking a target segment caused its rearward shifting pushing a contact through the associated hole to engage the other of the pair of contacts to close a circuit. The scoring matrix could be covered with a resilient sheet functioning to bias the various target segments away from the scoring matrix.
These prior art games having moving target segments performed generally satisfactorily. However, the moving segments were subject to wear and could jam, resilient material becomes brittle with age so as to lose the ability to return the segments to their extended positions, and electrical contacts become worn with repeated use. For further information regarding the structure and operation of such prior art electronic dart games, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,057,251 and 4,516,781 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 749,584, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,940.